Keeping up with the Jones: Welcoming the next generation

Editor-in-Chief Seth Jones ponders what's happened the last few weeks and looks towards what's next.

<p>The post Keeping up with the Jones: Welcoming the next generation first appeared on Golfdom.</p>

Last month, I brought back Herb Graffis’ “Swinging around golf,” and it turned out better than OK — and somewhat predictive — so let’s run it back. It’s also the Herb Graffis Businessperson of the Year award issue, after all. This time, I’m writing a few days before the start of The Open Championship as I bring the laptop over to the Hall of Justice to peck away at the keyboard, ponder what’s happened and wonder what’s next.

So, let’s get right to the bullet points:

• How about that U.S. Open? Hats off to John Jeffreys and his team at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort for another exceptional championship. See some of the people and sights we saw at this year’s championship here. I know many who love it when The Masters ends on Easter Sunday, but I’m more of a U.S. Open final-round-on-Father’s-Day kinda guy. My kids (Evey, 17 and Boyd, 12) asked me what I wanted to do on Father’s Day, and I said three things: 1) hang out with our family, 2) grill ribs and 3) watch the final round of the U.S. Open. Check, check and check.
• Speaking of Father’s Day… my favorite part of that Golfdom Gallery spread: the two father/son combos who were included (photos 3 and 10)! Just about everyone in the industry knows Brian Thompson of BASF, but how often do you get to meet his son? I met Brendan on Wednesday of the U.S. Open, and I told B.T.’s kid, “Your dad is about the most famous guy I know in the golf maintenance industry,” which gave him a chuckle. In the same circle was another father/son duo: Bill and Connor Roddy. Bill is the Group Publisher for North Coast Media’s “Green” books — Golfdom and Landscape Management. Connor is an assistant-in-training working at Pinehurst No. 6. As everyone was shaking hands and happily welcoming the younger generation, I got a chill when Mark Semm of BASF and B.T. pulled Connor aside to offer him advice and guidance on how to make it in the industry. I guess I’m getting to the age where we watch our kids grow up and become the next generation. That’s both inspiring and frightening — parents, you know what I mean.
• We were just in the Envu offices in Cary, N.C., and a few weeks later, a major industry announcement was made: FMC is selling its Global Specialty Solutions business to Envu. This package includes its golf, sports turf and pest control products. We’ve been following this Envu journey from jump street, from when Bayer Environmental Science was looking to divest its T&O portfolio to when people walked by Envu’s massive booth in Orlando and asked, “En-voo?” “No… En-VIEW.” Then they looked over and saw the Stressgard portfolio of products and said, “OH! I know you.” With this acquisition, Envu has become an even bigger player in the industry.
• Sure enough, the email that Mark LaFleur of Syngenta hinted would be in my email inbox arrived about a week after my Father’s Day ribs were a distant memory. In short, the industry powerhouse launched two new active ingredients (isocycloseram and cyclobutrifluram), one a broad-spectrum fungicide and the other a nematicide and fungicide. We’ll keep pursuing the story as it evolves.
• Time for me to place my bets (Rory!) on The Open Championship and get ready for the final major of the season. I was fortunate to attend The Masters, the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open in 2024 — that’s a great year. And the end of the Open doesn’t mean that winter is coming … but it does mean that fall is near. Hang in there, friends of Golfdom!

<p>The post Keeping up with the Jones: Welcoming the next generation first appeared on Golfdom.</p>